Crews make progress on power restoration

Thousands of Boone Electric Cooperative customers went without power after snow blanketed Boone County on Tuesday, but service had been restored to most homes affected by Thursday morning.

Some Boone Electric customers were facing a second night without power Wednesday, spokeswoman Vicki Kemna said. The electric cooperative's number of outages peaked yesterday at more than 14,000 customers. That total had decreased to about 4,800 customers as of 10:30 a.m. today and about 2,900 Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday morning, the number was under 900.

"Yesterday we concentrated on getting the big fixes, to get as many people on as fast as we could," Kemna said Wednesday morning. "Today we are working on the smaller outages that affect one or two customers. We have a lot of them, and it will take time."

The smaller outages account for 390 locations throughout Boone County.

Outages yesterday were heavy in the Hallsville area and west of Columbia. Outages remained heavy north of Columbia on Wednesday morning.

The more outages a neighborhood or area has, the more likely it is that power will be reconnected sooner than later, Kemna said.

Boone Electric crews worked overnight and were joined today by fellow cooperatives from Lewistown, West Plains and Licking, totaling 44 linemen. Columbia Water and Light is also assisting with two crews.

Columbia Water and Light on Wednesday morning reported three outages, spokeswoman Connie Kacprowicz said. Those outages remained because the property owner was responsible for the repair, not the city, she said.

Boone Electric is asking customers to call its office at 449-4181 if their power was restored but has gone out again, Kemna said. Customers inundated Boone Electric's 40 call takers Tuesday with reported outages, she said.

"I believe we are aware of all the members that we have out" of power, Kemna said. "We are fairly certain at this time that we know who are without power."

Kemna said customers should begin making arrangements now for a hotel room or other shelter if their outage continues into the evening.

The local chapter of the American Red Cross Tuesday evening opened a shelter for those without power at Broadway Christian Church, 2601 W. Broadway. Sleeping cots and food were limited, but just one man stayed the night, said Tim Carson, senior minister.

The shelter also stayed open as a warming station. Carson reported four people taking advantage of the warmth Wednesday morning. The shelter was open again Wednesday night, he said.

People in affected areas should consider being neighborly, said Martina Pounds, a Boone/Columbia Office of Emergency Management spokeswoman, and reach out to those in isolated places.

Ameren Missouri customers in Boone County also experienced outages yesterday in light of the wet, heavy snowfall. As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, customer outages were below 1,500, from a peak of 13,257 Tuesday afternoon for Central Missouri, according to a news release. By 4:30 p.m., 332 customers in the region were still without power.

Mediacom customers also yesterday experienced a disruption in phone and Internet services, according to a Mediacom news release. A major fiber cut occurred Monday in the Camdenton area and was caused by ice on cable lines and down lines. Internet services were restored around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The Columbia/Boone County Office of Emergency Management monitored Tuesday's storm throughout the day at the 911 center. Local officials discussed the possibility of roof collapses, but no residential collapses were reported, said Scott Olsen, director.

A Break Time canopy on Vandiver Drive and Paris Road fell during Tuesday's snowstorm. No injuries were reported. In Fayette, the roof of a two-story building in the downtown area collapsed, as did the roof of an adjacent building. All three of the incidents involved flat roofs.

Residential roofs shed snow and ice better because of their pitch, said Phil Teeple, Columbia's building regulations supervisor. Both flat roofs and pitched roofs, by Columbia ordinance, are required to be able to hold 20 pounds per square foot of a ground snow load.

Residents who hear cracking or see shifting in their ceilings should contact the building department at 874-7474 for a free inspection. If residents do not feel safe in their homes, they should seek other shelter, Teeple said.

Commercial structure owners should contact a contractor for an inspection, he said.

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